The Council for Boys & Young Men (‘The Council’)

About the program

The Council aims to promote healthy masculine identity development and growth in areas such as self-esteem, self-efficacy, and interpersonal skills. It achieves this through structured intervention utilising a gender-relevant, strengths-based group approach. During the sessions, boys are given the opportunity to talk and listen to concerns and interests across topics such as relationships, conflict resolution, education, leadership, community service, diversity, mass media messages, personal values, integrity, and future goals.

Who does it work for?

The Council is designed for adolescent boys aged 14-19.

The Council for Boys and Men has only been evaluated in the USA. A pilot randomised control trial (Liddell & Kurpius, 2014) was conducted with 22 people (11 in both intervention and control groups). Study participants were 16 years old on average mostly Caucasian (50%).

The Council has not been evaluated in Australia or with Aboriginal Australians.

What outcomes does it contribute to?

Positive outcomes:

• The Council participants were more likely to experience future self-efficacy (belief in ability to plan and execute performance in the future).

No effect:

• The Council participants showed non-significant changes in masculinity ideology
• The Council participants showed non-significant changes in relational aggression
• The Council participants showed non-significant changes in self-esteem
• The Council participants showed non-significant changes in identify distress

How effective is it?

Overall, The Council had a mixed effect on client outcomes.

How strong is the evidence?

Mixed research evidence:

• At least one high-quality randomised controlled trial (RCT)/quasi-experimental design (QED) study reports statistically significant positive effects for at least one outcome, AND
• An equal number or more RCT/QED studies of similar size and quality show no observed effects than show statistically significant positive effects, AND
• No RCT/QED studies show statistically significant adverse effects.

How is it implemented?

The Council is delivered in small groups over 10 sessions held weekly which have a duration of 60-90 minutes. The Council is delivered in school settings. During the sessions, boys are given the opportunity to talk and listen to concerns and interests across topics such as relationships, conflict resolution, education, leadership, community service, diversity, mass media messages, personal values, integrity, and future goals.

How much does it cost?

The costs for The Council were not reported in the study.

What else should I consider?

The Council is delivered by 2 male facilitators.

Where does the evidence come from?

1 Pilot RCT conducted in the USA with a sample of 22 people (Lidell & Kurpius, 2014).

Further resources

Liddell, TM, & Kurpius, SR 2014, ‘Assessing the Impact of a School-Based Group Approach with Adolescent Males’, Journal of School Counseling, vol. 12, no. 22, pp. 1-33, 2021, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1162472.